The Bixley Family
Episode summary Jo visits the Bixley family in Peterborough. Alex is a long-haul flight attendant, often away for weeks at a time, and Heather is a full-time receptionist. They have two children, Brandon (aged 7) and Zac (aged 4). Brandon has been avoiding most foods except chips since a case of stomach flu as a baby, but what started out as fussy eating has become an obsessive fear that dominates family life. Episode recap Observation Jo arrives at the Bixley home and meets the boys and their parents. Right away, it’s lunch time, and Brandon refuses to eat. Heather makes things worse by hovering over him, and demands that he pick up the sausage on his plate. Brandon begins to gag at the sight of it, and it’s not long before Heather jabs the sausage in his face. He tries to run to the bathroom when Heather screams at him to get back to the table. Jo is absolutely shocked and appalled by the drama. Later on, the family goes out to the mall. The boys run off in every direction, and Alex doesn’t let Heather know where he’s going, much to her asking, "Where've you been?!" as if Alex is one of the kids. When Zac continues to run off, Heather spanks him and starts to break down in distress from the boys’ behavior. Dinner time is just as bad as lunch time. Heather leans over the table with a spoonful of yogurt. Brandon knows that his mother will shove it in his face, which of course she does, much to him screaming again. Parent meeting When the kids are put to bed, Jo confronts Heather and Alex. She expresses that what she saw was so bad that she came really close to pulling Heather aside, and was absolutely livid with her. Teaching Jo brings in the household rules and introduces a discipline system. The family goes out shopping for healthier food to change Brandon’s ways of eating. Jo implements a technique that encourages Brandon to add prices using a calculator, and Zac to help put food into the shopping cart. As a reward, the boys get to go on one of the rides. Before dinnertime, Jo introduces a technique giving the boys a choice as to what they will eat. She holds up two plates, each consisting of four food items. Brandon is unimpressed by this, and Zac makes the choice. While Heather prepares dinner, Alex catches the boys fighting, and does well with disciplining them. Jo also brings in reward placemats for the boys, where a sticker will be placed for each food group that the boys eat. Zac does well, but Brandon is still resisting after a half hour. Fortunately, dinner time is much calmer, and the attitude from the family is much more positive. Brandon shows that he is thinking about eating. Jo lets him make his decision. He ultimately decides not to, and later on sneaks in a bag of crisps. Alex and Jo catch him in the act. Jo reminds Brandon that crisps can be eaten as a treat, but he needs to show his parents that he will eat. For Heather and Alex, Jo implements the Same Page technique. Jo then takes the entire family out to spend quality time together at the park. Over the next few days, Brandon is making progress with his eating. Jo adds to the encouragement by having Heather and Alex creatively decorate the plates. Brandon even helps the family cook at times. Family test run With Jo gone for a week, Brandon is still resisting food, and his parents are pressuring him again, but he does continue to progress. However, Heather and Alex go back to bickering with each other. By the end of the week, they have had enough of it, and makes things easier for themselves by taking the boys to a fast food drive-thru. They laugh at this when they see it on the DVD footage Jo brings in. Jo reprimands them for saying, "Mummy and Daddy have decided we're giving you a break," because it sent a negative message, saying that they have had enough, they don't trust the technique, and that they're worried that it could go on for longer than how long they want it to. Reinforcement After the DVD meeting, Jo implements a Little Chef technique that gets the boys involved in cooking the food and motivates them to eat. Jo also helps Brandon overcome his fear of food by having him plant vegetables, and understand where they come from. Over the next few days, Heather and Alex are communicating much better, and the Bixley family enjoys a roast dinner. Jo then leaves the Bixleys for good. Family members *Alex Bixley *Heather Bixley *Brandon Bixley *Zac Bixley Category:UK Episodes Category:Families with Two Children Category:Families with Boys Only Category:Naughty Step Episodes Category:Naughty Chair Episodes Category:Picky Eater Episodes Category:Shopping episodes Category:Series 2 Episodes Category:Mall Episodes Category:Episodes with Abusive Parents Category:Episodes with well behaved children Category:Episodes with no disrespectful children Category:Car episodes Category:Episodes with little direspectful children Category:Picky Eaters Episodes